David Kingsbury LPCC

You could say that I had a bit of a rough start in life, growing up in a broken home, dealing with poverty, and struggling to find my purpose and meaning. This led me to make some poor decisions that contributed to my anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. It was after finding my faith and experiencing treatment myself, that I knew I wanted to give something back, to help others overcome the types of obstacles I had dealt with, showing them that healing was possible. This is why I became a therapist and why I work with people today.

I believe that people have the capacity for change and growth. Although the things you have experienced or the difficulties you have faced certainly shape you, for better or for worse, these scars are not permanent. If you're willing to take the step of facing painful memories or current hardships, and then apply the effort necessary toward changing them, you can succeed and begin to build the future of your dreams. This aligns with my treatment philosophy as well, particularly in the area of recognizing that healing, in all its many facets, is certainly possible.

First, I recognize that everyone is unique and that the only way to understand someone's perspective is to see through their eyes, which only they can help you do. Listening is far more important than talking in this regard, and the most critical part of my initial work with someone is building a strong therapeutic relationship so the client knows they are loved and valued irrespective of their problems. After that, I seek to create goals in collaboration with my client that are as unique as the client is, with objectives targeted to achieve measurable and lasting results. The way this is executed varies so, as an eclectic therapist, I choose the right tool for the right job, whether addressing faulty thinking, managing ineffective behaviors, learning new skills, or simply creating a safe space to contemplate tough situations and develop new insight into them. Not everything is a nail, so using the right tool for the right job is very important. All of this is done in a spirit of cooperation with the client, sometimes encouraging, and sometimes challenging them, so that together we can arrive at genuine solutions, grasp real hope, and see life-changing growth take place. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to therapy. But there is a universal approach that gets results and this is demonstrating, in all things, genuine compassion.

• Kentucky, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, 104899

I began working in the mental health field in a residential setting, treating clients for behavioral health and addiction disorders. From there, I joined an outpatient clinic where I provided treatment to severely mentally ill clients, treating disorders such as bipolar, schizophrenia, and personality disorders as well as working with children, couples, and families in both individual and group settings. Later, I stepped into administrative roles, serving as the Intensive Outpatient Coordinator for a 3-county program in Central Kentucky and then as Clinical Director for an agency where I developed and provided direct oversight of multiple facilities and levels of care, including Outpatient, Intensive Outpatient, and Residential. Currently, I've joined an outpatient practice that allows me to focus my time less on management or program development and more on direct care to clients, which is the reason I became a therapist: seeing people grow, overcome their problems, and reach their full potential.